1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to acupressure apparatuses, and more particularly to an acupressure apparatus which simultaneously stimulates, with even pressure, several acupressure points on a shaped portion of a living body.
2. Description of the Contemporary and/or Prior Art
Acupressure is the application of localized pressure to acupuncture points on the human body to achieve beneficial results. Acupressure techniques based on acupuncture principles find application for facial massages that will effectively eliminate wrinkles. Additionally, acupressure can find use in treating pain in various body surfaces such as the neck, low back, knee, or elbow. When using such acupressure technique, it is desirable to place pressure siumltaneously at numerous acupuncture points wherein the pressure is substantially the same at each discrete point.
Vibration apparatuses are known in the prior art which provide vibration to a substantially flat array of protrusions. Such apparatuses are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,141,373 to Behm issued on June 1, 1915; U.S. Pat. No. 3,096,757 issued to T. C. Berard on July 9, 1963; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,990 to Blanchy on June 22, 1971. A primary disadvantage of such apparatuses is that they cannot contour to the shape of a body surface, such as the face of the user. Therefore, pressure cannot be simultaneously exerted on the desired acupuncture points in a substantially even manner.
In an attempt to solve the problem of accommodating a contoured body surface, U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,981 issued to R. J. Bachmann on Aug. 3, 1976 teaches a massaging apparatus which includes a plurality of pliable fingers disposed inside a tapered mask. However, because of the wide variance in facial sizes and shapes, this apparatus will not be useful for people other than those few which have facial features substantially in conformance to the shape of the mask. A heat vibrator which includes a plurality of resiliently mounted fingers is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,853 issued to Jochimski on Oct. 9, 1973. Similarly, the contact such resiliently mounted fingers can exert is dependent upon the configuration of the envelope structure thereof and is mechanically limited by the physical constraints of the apparatus used to mount the resilient fingers.
Several vibrator type apparatuses have been designed which can conform to variously contoured body features. U.S. Pat. No. 1,795,893 issued to Rosett on Mar. 10, 1931 discloses a face mask which includes a helmet like structure having a plurality of rubberized tubes disposed therein. The tubes are inflated and contact the head of the user roughly conforming in shape thereto. Other vibrators such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,347,554 issued to Gothers on Apr. 25, 1944; U.S. Pat. No. 3,478,736 issued to Roberts on Nov. 18, 1969; U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,781 issued to Kaye on Jan. 26, 1971; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,500 issued to Burchart on Aug. 15, 1978 show the use of a foam material to contact and conform to a shaped body surface through the use of a foam padding or the like. While these apparatuses do conform to a given shape, they are not suitable for use as acupressure devices since they do not stimulate discrete acupuncture points, but rather entire body surfaces. Additionally, the vibration transferred is abated in many locations as a result of the presence of uncompressed foam as compared to the foam compressed as a result of contouring.
The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art by providing an apparatus which permits the application of substantially even pressure to a plurality of discrete preselected acupressure points located on a shaped body surface. This is accomplished through the use of a device that includes a water backed membrane carrying a plurality of protrusions such that the water aids the shaping of the membrane to a shaped body surface and also serves to substantially evenly transmit vibration delivered to the water to all of the protrusions carried by the flexible membrane.